My Son Has Given Up Breakfast

[missy'smom]

Ds is not on a gluten free diet but we eat alot of the same foods. He's an only child and poor kid can't get through a whole box of cereal all by himself without getting sick of it. He won't eat anything I offer for breakfast lately. Just wants fruit, which is fine but I want him to have more than that. They don't get adequate time to eat lunch at school and he's starving by the time he gets home. We have Pamela's waffles every Saturday so he doesn't want that during the week. I don't want him to be eating sugary cereal or other sugary processed foods all the time. He doesn't like eggs. I don't mind buying nonGF bread but that gets old and isn't very nutritious. We used to eat apple crisp for breakfast sometimes but I'm not ready to try gluten-free oats yet. He has occasionally eaten yogurt but doesn't want that most of the time. He's 8 and has always liked a wide variety but is getting stuck in a rut lately.

Any ideas?

[CarlaB]

Fruit is probably the BEST thing he can eat in the morning! My kids have been eating nothing but fruit before school for years and they are very healthy because of it. Except for during a strep outbreak in our area a couple years ago, I never have to take them to see a doctor.

My kids lunches are early in the school day, so they, too, are hungry when they get home. If your son is doing fine other than being hungry when he gets home from school, I'd just let him have the fruit he wants. Maybe he can eat some nuts, like raw almonds, with the fruit. Or put some almond butter on an apple.

[confused]

Ds is not on a gluten free diet but we eat alot of the same foods. He's an only child and poor kid can't get through a whole box of cereal all by himself without getting sick of it. He won't eat anything I offer for breakfast lately. Just wants fruit, which is fine but I want him to have more than that. They don't get adequate time to eat lunch at school and he's starving by the time he gets home. We have Pamela's waffles every Saturday so he doesn't want that during the week. I don't want him to be eating sugary cereal or other sugary processed foods all the time. He doesn't like eggs. I don't mind buying nonGF bread but that gets old and isn't very nutritious. We used to eat apple crisp for breakfast sometimes but I'm not ready to try gluten-free oats yet. He has occasionally eaten yogurt but doesn't want that most of the time. He's 8 and has always liked a wide variety but is getting stuck in a rut lately.

Any ideas?

my kids love gogurts, they like those more then yogurts, how about oatmeal with fruit, cereal bars with a cup of milk. fruit smoothies, toaster struddels, pop tarts, i know not the most nutritous, but its better then nothing.

My 6 yr old almost 7 in a few days, is a very picky eater. SOme days he just wont eat breaky, but they have a nutriuos snack at 10 at school, so i dont get very worried.

paula

[Michi8]

Ds is not on a gluten free diet but we eat alot of the same foods. He's an only child and poor kid can't get through a whole box of cereal all by himself without getting sick of it. He won't eat anything I offer for breakfast lately. Just wants fruit, which is fine but I want him to have more than that. They don't get adequate time to eat lunch at school and he's starving by the time he gets home. We have Pamela's waffles every Saturday so he doesn't want that during the week. I don't want him to be eating sugary cereal or other sugary processed foods all the time. He doesn't like eggs. I don't mind buying nonGF bread but that gets old and isn't very nutritious. We used to eat apple crisp for breakfast sometimes but I'm not ready to try gluten-free oats yet. He has occasionally eaten yogurt but doesn't want that most of the time. He's 8 and has always liked a wide variety but is getting stuck in a rut lately.

Any ideas?

What about lunch for breakfast? A sandwich, pizza, pasta...no reason you have to have breakfast-type foods in the morning!

Can your son have a snack during recess? I always pack enough for my kids to have a snack at each recess plus a good-sized lunch. Sometimes they bring snacks home that they couldn't finish...so I know they aren't going hungry during the day.

Michelle

[CarlaB]

I always pack enough for my kids to have a snack at each recess plus a good-sized lunch.

I buy bars for my kids that they like to take to school for snacks during the day. Lara Bars, Clif Nectar bars, and Bumblebars for the gluten-free ones, and the cheaper bars for the non-gluten-free kids.

[Guest cassidy]

I agree with the lunch for breakfast idea. Whenever I don't feel like eating, I just eat whatever I really like whether it is pasta for breakfast or eggs for dinner.

I would think that he need some protein to go along with the fruit. Can he have cheese or peanut butter with it? Or, make a smoothie with yogurt or even ice cream? Ice cream can't be any worse than sugary cereals.

String cheese is also good to grab quickly.

[kbtoyssni]

I used to hate eating breakfast food for breakfast when I was a kid. I'd make myself grilled cheese sandwiches or salad or leftovers from the night before like pizza or lasagna. Don't feel you have to feed him breakfast food. And an 8-year-old who wants to eat fruit? You've got yourself a keeper here!

[lonewolf]

What about turkey bacon or sausage? It's good to get protein in the morning. My kids also like string cheese, yogurt, peanut butter (or almond butter) and jelly sandwiches, cheese quesadillas, peanut or almond butter on apples or bananas and whatever might be leftover from dinner that isn't being taken for lunch.

[Cam's Mom]

my son is also very picky and more so at breakfast. He is so skinny that I am afraid he will disintegrate into a pile of dust before lunch. These are our most recent ideas:

cheese & crackers

envirokids rice bars

rice pudding

yoplait whipped yogurt

bannana choc. chop muffins (he can usually get that down!)

trail mix with dried fruit lots of nuts

Fried eggs

deviled eggs

cheese quessidilla

Mostly he doesn't eat any of it though and if he does it's like two bites and he's full. So we put together a box of snacks and labelled it "Stratton's Grocery Store" and we've asked the teacher's to let him eat whenever he feels he needs to.

Hope there's an idea you can use in there.

Barb

[missy'smom]

He is so skinny that I am afraid he will disintegrate into a pile of dust before lunch.

Mine too. He's always been a good eater so I haven't worried but lately he is soon full and hungry again even sooner. I forgot to mention before that he's hyperactive and constantly asking for snacks. I don't want to fuel that fire and try to provide healthy things.

Thanks everyone. I worry too much and need to let go a little. I had a milk allergy that my mother completely ignored and she didn't provide us with balanced nutritious meals, in addition to my other health problems revolving around food so I worry about my son's diet alot.

[Juliet]

I used to make "rice pudding" for breakfast whenever I was in the breakfast cereal rut, and I didn't have celiac disease then either. I'd take cold leftover rice, pour milk over it, sprinkle a little sugar & cinnamon and be done. Sometimes I'd also add sliced fruit to it like peaches or strawberries or a few nuts. I also liked burritos, too. I've done both of these options a few times with my son, I just used corn tortillas instead of flour.

[larry mac]

Ds is not on a gluten free diet but we eat alot of the same foods. He's an only child and poor kid can't get through a whole box of cereal all by himself without getting sick of it. He won't eat anything I offer for breakfast lately. I don't want him to be eating sugary cereal or other sugary processed foods all the time. I don't mind buying nonGF bread but that gets old and isn't very nutritious. We used to eat apple crisp for breakfast sometimes but I'm not ready to try gluten-free oats yet.

Any ideas?

I have some ideas, they may not be good ones and I mean no disrespect. I could have it all wrong, but here goes.

"...Ds is not on a gluten free diet but we eat alot of the same foods".

That kind of sucks for him. Gluten-free food is mostly terrible. My wife has her own cereals, breads, crackers, cookies, etc. I even make her gluten stuff, get her normal pizzas etc.

"...poor kid can't get through a whole box of cereal all by himself without getting sick of it."

Let him have whatever kinds of regular cereal he wants, several boxes. If you end up throwing some away, no big deal. It's cheaper than gluten-free anyway.

"...I don't want him to be eating sugary cereal or other sugary processed foods all the time."

Regular cereal never killed me or my kids. Tens of millions eat it every day. At least he'll be eating something. And it's not all the time, just breakfast.

"...I don't mind buying nonGF bread but that gets old and isn't very nutritious."

It's very nutritious compared with nothing. Make real toast (not pop-up); butter bread first and then cook only topside in oven toaster or oven broiler. Let him pick out various jams & jellies, or honey & syrup to put on it. Good stuff!

"...I'm not ready to try gluten-free oats yet"

What does that matter; I thought we were worried about his eating enough. Let the kid pick out a variety pack of real instant oatmeal.

Sorry, sounds brutal. My kids are grown so I didn't have to go throgh what you are. But if he doesn't have celiac, why should he have to suffer. Let him be as normal as possible I say.

best regards, lm

[Generic]

I was one of those kids who couldn't eat beakfast. If I did I hurled it back up within the hour. Even to this day I have to be up for at least an hour or two before I can eat.

My suggestion is give him a glass of carnation instant breakfast along with his fruit. It has plenty of nutrients in it and if you get the chocolate it taste like chocolate milk. That's what my mom did, and it worked great.

[missy'smom]

Ouch.

I have some ideas, they may not be good ones and I mean no disrespect. I could have it all wrong, but here goes.

"...Ds is not on a gluten free diet but we eat alot of the same foods".

That kind of sucks for him. Gluten-free food is mostly terrible. My wife has her own cereals, breads, crackers, cookies, etc. I even make her gluten stuff, get her normal pizzas etc.

I don't know what my point was with that. I was tired this afternoon. When I said "same foods" I didn't mean gluten-free products. He gets his own gluten filled stuff. Usually we eat different breakfasts and he gets regular lunch and we have gluten-free family dinners.

"...poor kid can't get through a whole box of cereal all by himself without getting sick of it."

Let him have whatever kinds of regular cereal he wants, several boxes. If you end up throwing some away, no big deal. It's cheaper than gluten-free anyway.

I guess it's not the end of the world if I throw away 1/2 a box of cereal. I'm fairly frugal. Waste not want not.

"...I don't want him to be eating sugary cereal or other sugary processed foods all the time."

Regular cereal never killed me or my kids. Tens of millions eat it every day. At least he'll be eating something. And it's not all the time, just breakfast.

My hang up with sugary processed cereal is that he has ADHD emphasis on the H and I don't want to send him to school wired.

"...I don't mind buying nonGF bread but that gets old and isn't very nutritious."

It's very nutritious compared with nothing. Make real toast (not pop-up); butter bread first and then cook only topside in oven toaster or oven broiler. Let him pick out various jams & jellies, or honey & syrup to put on it. Good stuff!

"...I'm not ready to try gluten-free oats yet"

What does that matter; I thought we were worried about his eating enough. Let the kid pick out a variety pack of real instant oatmeal.

It's hard to do but I admitted earlier that I let my issues with food interfere with my decisions about my son and worry too much.

He doesn't eat cooked oatmeal. I used to use it in the topping for apple crisp. I just don't want to end up making 3 separate breakfasts. My husband won't eat what my son and I eat( cultural difference, not a gluten-free issue) so if DS and I can eat the same thing it helps. DS eats with my husband sometimes but not always because of schedule conflicts.

Sorry, sounds brutal. My kids are grown so I didn't have to go throgh what you are. But if he doesn't have celiac, why should he have to suffer. Let him be as normal as possible I say. I think I do that sucessfully. I try to stay open to changes in perspective. Respectfully, KT

best regards, lm

[missy'smom]

Thanks again for the suggestions everyone. They were helpful and we will add or reitroduce many of your ideas. We have a good list to start from again.

[Michi8]

I was one of those kids who couldn't eat beakfast. If I did I hurled it back up within the hour. Even to this day I have to be up for at least an hour or two before I can eat.

My suggestion is give him a glass of carnation instant breakfast along with his fruit. It has plenty of nutrients in it and if you get the chocolate it taste like chocolate milk. That's what my mom did, and it worked great.

-Laurie

I'm an adult that doesn't/can't eat breakfast...and didn't eat much breakfast as a kid either. I'm just not hungry first thing in the morning (I think it has to do with me being such a night owl) and, if I do eat, the most I'll have is a bowl of yogurt with ground flax seed. Usually I will eat a few hours after I get up, and, on the days I exercise, I eat afterwards not before.

Michelle

[shayesmom]

Ds is not on a gluten free diet but we eat alot of the same foods. He's an only child and poor kid can't get through a whole box of cereal all by himself without getting sick of it. He won't eat anything I offer for breakfast lately. Just wants fruit, which is fine but I want him to have more than that. They don't get adequate time to eat lunch at school and he's starving by the time he gets home. We have Pamela's waffles every Saturday so he doesn't want that during the week. I don't want him to be eating sugary cereal or other sugary processed foods all the time. He doesn't like eggs. I don't mind buying nonGF bread but that gets old and isn't very nutritious. We used to eat apple crisp for breakfast sometimes but I'm not ready to try gluten-free oats yet. He has occasionally eaten yogurt but doesn't want that most of the time. He's 8 and has always liked a wide variety but is getting stuck in a rut lately.

Any ideas?

Personally, I wouldn't be able to handle only cereal or another grain product for breakfast. It's filling for about an hour, gives me a huge insulin spike and then I crash and am starving afterward. My metabolic type is a mixed protein/carb type. If I eat a bit of both (protein/meat and a carb), I'm satisfied for over 3-4 hours at least! Your son may have some ideas as what is more "filling" or "satisfying" to him as a breakfast meal. Perhaps he's a true carb type and fruit is very satisfying to him?

In any case, I do have a few ideas for you. Keep in mind that we are all gluten, dairy, soy, egg and food coloring-free in my house. Diagnosed or not. My dd is diagnosed with food allergies and "probable Celiac Disease"...we didn't go to biopsy and the diet worked miracles. I whole-heartedly disagree with the notion that gluten-free foods are somehow tasteless or inferior to gluten-filled foods. I have people asking me for recipes quite often and their look of shock when they discover the ingredients is quite amusing. They think that I'm using some "specialty" ingredients because I'm a good cook and somehow "in the know" about special cooking items....NOT because we're on a restricted diet!

Pancakes with bacon, sausage or ham (We love The Cravings Place brand and I freeze extras for quick breakfasts on the go)

Grilled ham and cheese sandwich with sliced tomatoes (or a BLT)

Cream of buckwheat hot cereal cooked with milk and a fruit (we love diced peaches in this)

French toast with breakfast meat (I do miss this)

Breakfast meat with hashbrowns or homefries and a side of fruit

Sausage gravy with biscuits (I make a gluten/dairy/soy/egg-free version of this which is also lower in fat). A side of baked or sauteed apples is good with this along with a glass of carrot/apple juice.

Larabars....or a home-made version of a fruit/snack bar.

Some fruit juices have worked for us as well. Naked Juice makes several "Superfood" varieties of juice that are incredibly filling (and provide you with all your vegetable or fruit servings for the day). Green Machine has wheat grass, but there's also Berry Blast, Blue Machine, Purple Machine and Gold Machine which would work. They're great-tasting and good for you as well. Your son may really like this....and one pound of fruit goes into every bottle...no chemicals, additives or preservatives. You can also try making fruit smoothies for breakfast in your blender. Or get a juicer and try juicing.

My dd is liking rice cakes with mashed banana lately. Then again....she likes nearly everything with a banana. She also will eat things like grape tomatoes, carrot sticks, seedless grapes, and every other fruit imaginable (especially melons).

My dd also likes "weird" things like cabbage rolls or meatloaf (leftovers) for breakfast. She cannot stand breakfast cereals more than a couple of times per month, if that. She tells me it's "too sweet"....mind you, it's not anywhere near as sweet as most of the cereals commonly served to kids these days. My dd is also not only gluten-intolerant, but is allergic to dairy, soy, eggs and has sensitivities to food colorings. If she has these foods, she not only has gluten-like reactions....but also jumps into ADHD-like behavior for 3-7 hours. No thank you! We'll stick to our "restricted" diet and "suffer".

Foods today are much more chemically-processed than they were when even we were growing up. Some children (and adults) are very sensitive to all the synthetic garbage and need to avoid it as it can pose health risks. Half the junk on the market contains ingredients that are on Hazardous Substance Lists and that have never been tested for their ability to cause cancer or reproductive harm. And many of them are listed as being neurotoxic or affecting the nervous system (or potentially causing liver or renal failure with prolonged exposure). It may not be a real concern if eating it once in a while....but some people take it to the extreme.

In any case, there is nothing wrong with providing healthier items for breakfast. And steering clear of gluten items may not be all that bad. We crave what is familiar and what we know. That is why we "suffer" when we are diagnosed as celiac. We've spent decades developing addictions to nutritionally inferior foods and now have to not only change habits and retrain our palettes....but also have to sever emotional bonds with many foods. Working in gluten-free foods now may be a blessing in disguise down the road for your son.

[missy'smom]

Shayesmom, Thank you for the support. It sounds like we're on the same page.

[StrongerToday]

Could he pick out those multi-pack boxes of cereals, that way he could have a different one every day. My 9 yr old DD loves bagels with peanut butter for a before school breakfast, keeps her full all morning. You could also buy some gluten-free cereals to make the apple crisps, or make him a fruit and yogurt parfait with granola or gluten-free granola on top - YUM! Smoothies are good too.

[Nancym]

I don't think it's the end of the world if a kid doesn't eat breakfast, as long as they're eating a good healthy diet without a lot of added sugar and starches. Most kids are loading up on too many carbs and if they don't keep eating constantly they'll have a blood sugar crash, but if your diet is high protein with veggies and maybe some fruit you shouldn't be having sugar crashes.

I'd suggest a few things:

If he can eat dairy, Greek style yogurt with some fruit on sugar free syrups on top.

Sausages. I get wonderful turkey/chicken sausages at Trader Joes. You heat them in the microwave.

An apple or banana with peanut butter.

Smoothies made from coconut milk or yogurt and fruit.

Sometimes I have a piece of this excellent salami I get, maybe a few olives and some raw walnuts or pecans.

An oz or two of nuts.

Left-overs from the night before.

But my favorite breakfast is something I invented which I call a "bowl muffin". Basically it is a mix of coconut flour/rice bran with baking powder and an egg, I use splenda for sweetening and add in either an extract like banana or else frozen fruit and some nuts. It is high in fiber, low in carbohydrates. In days gone by I used wheat based flour to make it but now I've graduated to alternative flours. I stir it up and microwave it in the same bowl, thus the name.

When you stop thinking that breakfast has to involve cereal or starchy, sugary stuff you really do discover it can be anything you want it to be.

[momagn5]

You have a lot of options here! Wow, I might try a few, too.

I am a mom of 5. I started taking my kids along shopping (gulp!) to see what they like. Sounds scary, but saves me from having to fight over breakfast because they have a fridge/drawer/basket full of foods they like and I approve. The time with the older children allows me time to "bond" with my kids, listen to their grumps/complaints about food choices (and life) and really get to know their favorites (which change like the weather!).

I try to gather some foods that are breakfast-on-the-go/snack foods, too, telling the kids that they could take one with them in case they get hungry on the way to school or while waiting in line before the bell rings.

My oldest 2 (now 13 & 15) still go through the "no breakfast today" routine, too. There are days, though, that they insist we make the gluten-free version of Malt-o-meal, or they microwave an egg minutes before darting out the door to school. (My middle child eats healthier than all of us. My 4th child eats foods with "No swheats, cuz I'm lergic and get dreaha.") My youngest (2) must have a certain cereal (no milk one day, flooded the next) and a certain drink (some days milk, some days water, some days juice)--I think it all depends on which side of the crib he gets up on! If he doesn't like what you have prepared for him, he shoves the bowl across the table in defiance (typical 2s, but I don't recall my girls being that way--what am I in for!?)

No matter what age, kids will go from finnicky to fasting to "normal" and back again. They will eat when they are hungry enough (unless they are seriously ill). Mine always filled up at school, or afternoon (and bedtime) snacks, and the evening meal. (Now they raid the kitchen.)

I wish you luck!

[shayesmom]

Shayesmom, Thank you for the support. It sounds like we're on the same page.

LOL! Yes, I think we are considering that my dd also has had issues which prompt me to think "ADHD....emphasis on the H as well!".

Diet plays a major factor in all of this and food chemicals and colorings seem to rev up my dd as well. It's not something that I enjoy dealing with and I wouldn't knowingly send my dd off to school for someone else to try to deal with.

I also would add that with the hyperactivity component....there can be a zinc deficiency at work. If your son isn't allergic, you may want to add things like cashews to his diet (they are very high in zinc as well as a few other nutrients that are helpful for this behavioral tendency).

Also, there are a few other breakfast ideas that may work.

Rice flour wraps with a nut butter (or sunflower butter), chopped apples and raisins or dried cranberries.

Potato pancakes

Quinoa flakes or another gluten-free hot cereal

Hash brown casserole or other breakfast casserole which can include eggs, potatoes and a meat item

Breakfast muffins (apple cranberry, blueberry or rice bran)

Banana frittata

Breakfast burritos (can be pre-made and frozen so that you can microwave and be out the door in minutes)

Banana or zucchini bread

Cottage cheese with peach slices

This topic is cracking me up a bit because with my dd's allergies....breakfast has always been our toughest meal (the one I've complained about the most over the past 2 years). I must say that I'm a bit surprised that I actually have palatable suggestions to contribute!

You may like this article on the new American breakfast plate being suggested for cancer patients: Open Original Shared Link

Also, with breakfast meats...we usually only get the organic ones that are uncured and free of nitrites/nitrates. There would probably be more ideas on some Paleodiet sites.

[Nic]

My 4 year old (who is not the Celiac) hates breakfast. Pretty much all he ever is willing to eat for breakfast is fruit. Sometimes it will be a banana or sometimes strawberries. It used to really upset me but what can you do? Some people just don't feel hungry in the morning. He went through a time period where he wanted raw peppers (of course the yellow and orange which are most expensive ). My husband would yell at me that he shouldn't eat a pepper in the morning. Why not? I am just happy to get something in him.

Nicole

[kbtoyssni]

I have some ideas, they may not be good ones and I mean no disrespect. I could have it all wrong, but here goes.

"...Ds is not on a gluten free diet but we eat alot of the same foods".

That kind of sucks for him. Gluten-free food is mostly terrible. My wife has her own cereals, breads, crackers, cookies, etc. I even make her gluten stuff, get her normal pizzas etc.

"...poor kid can't get through a whole box of cereal all by himself without getting sick of it."

Let him have whatever kinds of regular cereal he wants, several boxes. If you end up throwing some away, no big deal. It's cheaper than gluten-free anyway.

"...I don't want him to be eating sugary cereal or other sugary processed foods all the time."

Regular cereal never killed me or my kids. Tens of millions eat it every day. At least he'll be eating something. And it's not all the time, just breakfast.

"...I don't mind buying nonGF bread but that gets old and isn't very nutritious."

It's very nutritious compared with nothing. Make real toast (not pop-up); butter bread first and then cook only topside in oven toaster or oven broiler. Let him pick out various jams & jellies, or honey & syrup to put on it. Good stuff!

"...I'm not ready to try gluten-free oats yet"

What does that matter; I thought we were worried about his eating enough. Let the kid pick out a variety pack of real instant oatmeal.

Sorry, sounds brutal. My kids are grown so I didn't have to go throgh what you are. But if he doesn't have celiac, why should he have to suffer. Let him be as normal as possible I say.

best regards, lm

I disagree with some of your points. Although ds is not gluten-free, no one *needs* gluten to be healthy. I would also worry about the risks of CC if ds is eating gluten foods. Kids (and adults, too!) are notorious for dropping crumbs all over the place.

Although sugary cereal won't kill the kid, I think the american diet these days has way too much refined sugar. I think ds will be healthier without excess sugar. There have been many studies conducted in recent years about the effects of sugar on children and many behavioral and learning problems disappear when a child is feed a lower sugar, whole grain, high fruit and veggie diet. Don't have time to look any up right now, maybe someone else has some links?

I also disagree that gluten-free foods are mostly terrible. I've found some excellent gluten-free foods. I bake a lot of breads and sweets and my gluten eating friends can't tell the difference. There are a lot of yucky gluten-free foods out there, but if the stuff you're eating is terrible, you should keep looking. There are good gluten-free foods out there. I don't consider the gluten-free diet to be suffering.

[azmom]

I have 1 child that is gluten free and 1 that is not. Some of the items they eat are not considered breakfast food, but I figure it doesn't really matter, as long as it's not loaded w/ sugar. Here are some of the things they enjoy, which can be gluten-free or not: muffins, cheese crisps (the gluten-free brown rice tortillas from Trader Joes are awesome!), banana nut bread, taquitos, toasted bread w/ muenster cheese, hot rice cereal. I also make gluten-free pancakes on the weekends and then freeze them, so they can be microwaved on a busy morning. Or, chop up apples and bananas and mix them w/ vanilla yogurt and walnuts...yum!

If you have little bits of cereal left over, you might try combining several kinds and sending them as a snack w/ him to school.

Good luck! I know feeding kids can be a tough job. My gluten-free son is in a rut right now for lunches to take to school...if it ain't one thing, it's another!